Follow Your Heart
by Ann Parker
Summary: JAG/Pretender: Jarod helps Mac and Harm realize their true feelings while Miss Parker realizes hers. Could probably be rated G. Please R & R!


Follow Your Heart ****

DISCLAIMER: I don't own "The Pretender" or "JAG." Jarod and Miss Parker belong to NBC and Harm, Mac and the gang are CBS's. This is a cross of the two and its suppose to take place before Harm and Mac kissed this last season and before "The Pretender 2001" so I couldn't really pick a date in time, I guess it takes place in an alternate universe where I can control time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please R & R! Thanks!

*~*Ann Parker*~*

****

Follow Your Heart

Outside Café

Washington DC

13:45 Zulu

A tall, slender man wearing a pair of shades and a leather jacket takes a seat at an outdoor café. He looks at the menu at the table while looking at his surroundings a little while. A waitress walks up.

"What can I get you sir?" The man removes his shades and points to something on the menu.

"Tell me, this Beltway Burger, is it good?" asks Jarod.

"You bet." She smiles. He smiles back and hands her the menu.

"Then I'll have one of those with a coke."

"Okay." She walks away and Jarod surveys the people around him again. One of the things he loves to do after a pretend is to just sit and watch people. He pulls out his PEZ dispenser and eats a piece as he watches two people walk in and sit at an angle from him. He studies their clothing. The male is wearing a white navy outfit and the female is wearing a green marine outfit. 'That's odd' he thinks. He begins to listen in on their conversation.

"Come on, Harm, we should be able to come to some sort of agreement."

"We can as soon as you realize that I'm right." Jarod notices the folders on the table. They look like legal documents.

"Harm!" He chuckles.

"What?" he asks innocently. Jarod smiles. He loved watching couples have silly little arguments. They reminded him of the conversations he has with Miss Parker.

"Lieutenant Benson made a mistake but it was an act of love."

"An act that nearly killed ten others. Love or not, it deserves a punishment."

"He knows he was wrong and is sorry. Besides no one was actually hurt."

"Mac, it's the principal of the matter." She rolls her eyes and sighs. 'Ah! They're lawyers. They must work at the local JAG Headquarters' Jarod thinks.

"You are always so pessimistic when something involves love."

"And you are to easy to side with it." Jarod could see the passion in their eyes when they looked at each other. 'Lawyers and lovers, interesting combo.' Just then two other people walk up and sit with them. The female kisses the first man, Harm. She looks out of place to Jarod. Like she lives on the other coast. The second male kisses the marine, Mac. For the first time Jarod notices the ring on Mac's finger. This other man is lawyer too it appears. Jarod gets distracted when the waitress walks back with his burger. She then takes the two couple's order. Jarod sees the annoyance toward this other woman in Mac's eyes.

"So do you leave tomorrow Renée?" she asks rudely.

"Yeah," she says, "I have a shoot to go to for three weeks."

"Oh, that's too bad," she says sarcastically. Harm glances at Mac.

"Well, we'll miss ya, luv," says the other man.

"Thank you, Mic."

"Yeah, thank you, Mic," says Harm. It's his turn to be annoyed. Jarod sighs as he finishes his burger. He can tell who should be together. He had only been in DC a week and Broots was probably still stuck on the Vancouver lead and then there was Honolulu. He figures he's got time. Since it is impossible for him to be with Miss Parker, at least for the moment, he made it is duty to put people together that should be. He can't leave until those two are together.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

JAG Headquarters

Admiral Chegwidden's office

08:30 Zulu

AJ flips through a folder about a new Lt. as the man sits in front of him. He glances at his record. Clean as a whistle and has won 95% of his cases. AJ has noticed the added hostility between Mac and Harm and thinks that this Lt. Jarod Parker will hopefully help calm them down.

"Well, you seem like a perfect lawyer and your help around here will surely be appreciated."

"Thank you sir," says Jarod. AJ closes the folder and busses his intercom.

"Are Comdr. Rabb and Lt. Col. MacKenzie here yet?"

"Right here, sir," says Harm and they walk through the door. Jarod stands up.

"Good. Comdr. Rabb, Col. MacKenzie, this is Lt. Jarod Parker. Lt. Parker, these are our top two lawyers, Comdr. Harmon Rabb and Col. Sarah MacKenzie."

"Sir. Ma'am," says Jarod as he salutes. Harm smiles and reaches out his hand.

"Call me Harm," he says and Jarod shakes his hand.

"And call me Mac." They shake hands.

"Yeah, I prefer Jarod myself." They smile at each other.

"Well," says AJ, "why don't the two of you introduce Lt. Parker to the rest and have Lt. Roberts show him around."

"Yes sir," says Mac. The three exit the office. Mac turns to Jarod. "So what brings you here?"

"I wanted to move up to the big leagues I guess."

"Well, you certainly have," says Harm. Jarod smiles. He could see the chemistry between them. Bud and Harriet walk up.

"Good morning sir, ma'am…and sir," says Bud.

"Lt. Roberts, Lt. Sims, I would like you to meet Lt. Jarod Parker. He just joined us this morning," says Harm.

"Nice to meet you," says Jarod.

"You too," says Harriet. They shake hands. She glances at Mac. Bud and Jarod shake hands.

"Lt. Roberts will you show Lt. Parker around?" asks Mac.

"Sure. Follow me."

"Thank you. See the rest of you around," he says with a smile. They walk away and Harriet glances at Mac again and they laugh. Harm rolls his eyes and walks away. Mac and Harriet go into Mac's office.

"One word. Yummy," says Harriet.

"Oh my God, Harriet, you're married."

"So? You're engaged."

"True."

"So what's the harm of looking as long as we don't touch." They laugh.

"He _is_ cute, though," says Mac.

"Cute? He's gorgeous!" Mac laughs and shakes her head.

"Who is?" asks Mic as he walks through the door.

"Mic! Oh, no one." Mic kisses her.

"Good day, Harriet."

"You too sir."

"Now what were you two gossiping about?"

"Probably me," says Jarod, standing in the doorway which Mic had left open. Harm is with him. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something. I was just assigned to assist you in your latest case and saw your door open so…"

"That's okay. Come on in. Umm…Lt. Parker, this is my fiancé, Mic Brumby."

"Fiancé? Well, congratulations," says Jarod, somewhat plainly as he shakes Mic's hand. Harm notices that he sounds about as excited that they were getting married and he does himself and wondered if there was something behind that.

"Thank ya, mate," says Mic with a smile.

"An Aussie, huh?"

"Yep." Jarod smiles.

"Boo!" says Renée as she walks up behind Harm.

"Renée!" he says, startled. They kiss. She looks at Jarod.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Lt. Parker, nice to meet you," he says, again plainly and this time Mac notices it. They shake hands.

"I thought you had to leave this morning?" asks Mac.

"I do, in about an hour. I just wanted to say bye."

"Well, bye," says Mac as she sits at her desk.

"Can I steal you for a few minutes?" she asks Harm.

"Sure." Harm and Renée leave.

"Anything I can get you, Lt. Parker?" asks Harriet.

"No thanks," he says with a smile.

"Ma'am?"

"No thank you." Harriet nods and leaves.

"Well, I'll let you two get to work. Nice meeting you…what's your name again?"

"Jarod."

"Nice meeting you, Jarod. Bye luv."

"Bye," she says, her eyes never looking up until the door shuts. Then she looks at Jarod and he smiles which makes her smile, a little. "Let's get started."

"Absolutely." Jarod sits down and looks at her for a bit as she looks for a folder on her desk. This is going to be harder then he thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

JAG Headquarters

Col. MacKenzie's office

11:00 Zulu

Jarod and Mac had been working on the case for hours. He was still trying to figure her out. One thing he could tell right away was that she was a very good lawyer. One of the best he's met. The rest was still a mystery. He glances up from his papers and looks at her. She happens to do the same thing. Their eyes meet. They stare at each other for a bit, then quickly get back to work. When he looked in her eyes he saw a strong, confidant woman that was sure of her place at work but is confused in her personal life. He knew how she felt. He could see the torment in her, probably over Mic and Harm.

When she looked into his eyes she saw determination and a boyish charm in him. Just like Harm. She could sense this determination wasn't about his work, or at least his work on this case, but something else. What it was she couldn't tell for sure. Just like Harm again. She could never completely tell what he was thinking. She shakes Harm out of her head and glances back at Jarod just in time to see him eat a piece of PEZ. She laughs and he looks up and smiles.

"Sugar helps me think. Want some?" She smiles.

"Sure." He hands her the dispenser and she takes a piece and pops it in her mouth. "You know Lt.---"

"Jarod," he corrects her.

"Jarod, I can tell you are a very interesting person. Probably full of great stories," she says as she sways back and forth in her chair. He smiles.

"You have no idea." They laugh.

*~*~*~*

Harm is sitting in his office and can hear her laugh. God how he loved that laugh. He goes back to what he was thinking about since Renée left. He hadn't gotten any work done either and Mac and Jarod were probably going to beat him easily if he didn't stop. He keeps hearing Jarod say congratulations over and over in his head and can hear his odd tone when he said it. He couldn't figure out why he used that tone. Harriet walks by the door. Here is his chance to talk to someone.

"Lt. Sims?" She walks into the office.

"Yes sir?"

"Can I talk to you Harriet?"

"Yes sir."

"Please, shut the door and call me Harm. I need to talk to you as a friend."

"Yes si—Harm." She shuts the door and takes a seat next to him on the couch in his office. "What's wrong?"

"You were in Mac's office when Lt. Parker met Brumby right?"

"Yes."

"Did you notice anything odd about how he said congrats?" She thinks for a bit.

"Now that you mention it, it did seem as if he wasn't too excited."

"Exactly! But why?"

"Hmm, let me think. He also used that tone when he met Renée."

"He did?"

"Yes sir, err, Harm. He didn't seemed too happy to meet either of them." She studies Harm's face and can see his confusion. "May I ask why?"

"It's just that I'm trying to figure out why someone we just met would seem to have the same attitude I do towards Brumby and Mac has toward Renée." They sit in silence for a while.

"I don't know what to tell you Harm. Maybe Bud and I can figure out why. Would you like us to try?"

"That you ease my mind a lot, thanks."

"No problem, sir." He smiles at her as she gets up to leave.

"Thank you, Harriet. Back to work, Lt. Sims." She smiles as he switches from personal to professional mode.

"Lt. Sims and Lt. Roberts on the case sir," she says with a grin as she salutes. He laughs and salutes back.

"Dismissed."

"Yes sir." She leaves his office. He now sits back at his desk and tries to work on this case.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

JAG Headquarters

Col. MacKenzie's Office

17:30 Zulu

Jarod and Mac are wrapping up their argument. They were sitting next to each other talking it over.

"God I wish Harm would just be willing to settle, I hate arguing these type of cases," says Mac. She sighs. Jarod looked at her face when she said the name Harm. It seemed a mixer of joy, love, and frustration. He smiles. He thought, wishingly, that this was how Miss Parker thought about him. He smiles again and she sees it. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, you just remind me of someone. Would you like me to try to talk to Harm?"

"You can try but I know my flyboy and he is quite stubborn." 'Flyboy,' he thought, 'they have nicknames even.'

"I'll try my best." They smile at each other. All of a sudden her phone rings to life. She answers it.

"MacKenzie here." 'That's much better than 'What?'' he thinks.

"Sarah, luv."

"Oh, hi, Mic." Jarod flinches at that name a little. It's not that he doesn't like Mic, he seems nice enough, but he knows he wasn't the one for Mac.

"I just called to remind you about dinner."

"Oh, right. Thank you. Jarod and I are about through here so I'll be ready in time."

"Great, see ya there. Luv ya."

"You too. Bye." She didn't wait for his response and hung up. 'That seemed rushed and she didn't say 'I love you' but 'you too.'' This just reinforces Jarod's thoughts.

"I think I can handle the rest, why don't you leave now?" asks Jarod, hoping that maybe he can get on her computer and find out some information he needed.

"You sure?"

"I'll be fine."

"Great, thanks Jarod. Here," she grabs a pen and piece of paper, "this is my number. Give me a call id you need anything." She hands him the paper.

"I will."

"Bye."

"See you tomorrow." She grabs her coat and leaves. He begins to gather the papers when Harriet and Bud walk in and shut the door. Jarod notices them.

"Hello. Um, the Col. just left."

"We know, we wanted to talk to you," says Harriet. Jarod stops what he is doing.

"Okay." They all sit down. "Yes?"

"Okay, well, I don't know how to start this so I'll just be blunt," says Harriet.

"All right." He looks at them both, somewhat confused and concerned.

"I was in this office earlier with you, the Comdr., and the Col. when you met Mic and Renée. I noticed that when you met them you weren't exactly excited or happy about them."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"And we were wondering if there was something to that," says Bud. Jarod smiles. He felt he could trust this two.

"Can you two keep a secret?"

"Yes," replies Harriet immediately.

"Of course," says Bud a little slower, not sure what this was going to be.

"I'm not really her to work in the top JAG Headquarters."

"You aren't?" asks Bud.

"No, I'm here to fix the situation with the Col. and Comdr."

"What situation?" asks Bud, a little confused. Harriet smiles.

"The love problem?" she whispers. Jarod smiles and nods.

"Oh!" says Bud.

"How are you going to do that? Can we help?" asks Harriet.

"I'm not a 100% sure how and yes I could use your help. You see I need to get those two alone with just me, outside of work. Renée is gone, but Mic is going to be harder. Can you get me a schedule of his so I can see if I can find a good time?"

"I think I remember the Col. saying that he had to leave for the weekend," says Harriet.

"Really?"

"I'm not sure, we'll look into it."

"We will? I mean, we will," says Bud. Jarod smiles.

"Thank you." They get up and leave. Harriet turns back.

"One thing, how could you tell."

"Their eyes. A person always shows their true emotions in their eyes." She nods and they leave. Jarod finished packing up the case. This was a good break. It might speed this up. "Better check on my shadow," he says to himself. He gets his cell phone from his briefcase and dials.

*~*~*~*

"What?" 'God I wish she would answer nicer.'

"How was Vancouver?" He can hear the annoyance in her voice when she sighs.

"Crappy weather. Why can't you ever go to places with sun?" He laughs to himself, if she only knew what was next.

"Well, you never know." He hangs up. She sites there in her chair at her desk. She hates these games with Jarod but not why Broots and Sydney think. She leads them on into thinking its because she wants to catch him and she does but not for the Centre. She wants him for herself.

"One day. One day I'll just follow my heart and that will lead me into his arms. But I can't do that right now." She glances at her desk and sees a picture of her with Lyle and her father. "Not with them watching me very move."

*~*~*~*

"He didn't even realize he sounded different and didn't mean to seem that way, sir," says Harriet.

"You sure?" asks Harm.

"Positive," says Bud.

"Huh. Well, thanks you two."

"No problem sir." Bud and Harriet leave Harm's office, barely keeping a straight face. Jarod smiles at them as they leave and looks at Harm in his office.

"Time to get to know Harm a little." Jarod walks out of Mac's office and into Harm's. He knocks on the open door. "Want to get a bite to eat?"

"Not suppose to eat with opposing counsel," Harm says with a smile. Jarod laughs.

"Why not as friends?"

"I'd like that." Harm packs up his stuff and he and Jarod leave.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

JAG Headquarters

09:00 Zulu

Jarod is looking around the bullpen. He had no luck finding anything about Mic's schedule. 'God I hope that Harriet and Bud found something' he thinks. He gets tapped on the shoulder and jumps.

"Bud!"

"Sorry sir." Jarod laughs.

"It's okay, relax. I'm just a little jumpy. Got anything?"

"Yes," says Harriet with a smile. She looks around to see on Harm or Mac in ear distance. "He leaves today and won't be back for three days." Jarod smiles.

"Great."

"Have you come up with a plan yet?" asks Bud.

"Actually, I think I have and I want to run it by you two. Come to my office."

"Okay." They walk into his office, full of boxes to look like he hasn't unpacked yet. Bud and Harriet have a seat on the couch as Jarod shuts the door. He then sits across from them.

"I am going to invite all of you to my house for a cookout. I'll tell them it is tomorrow night and if you would, could you tell the rest that in is Saturday?" Harriet smiles.

"A set up, I like it. Of course we can tell the rest but what if they find out?"

"Tell them the truth, the plan. I have a feeling that everyone knows that there is something between those two."

"I think they do," says Bud.

"Do you think that will work?" asks Jarod.

"Yes," says Harriet with a smile. "How are you going to get them to confront their feelings when you get them there?"

"Tell them the truth." They nod. It is silent for a while. "Well, better start sending out the invitations," he says with a grin. They smile.

"Right," says Bud. They all leave his office. Harriet and Bud separate to cover more ground and Jarod goes to look for Harm and Mac. He finds Harm in his office first. He knocks on the door.

"Come in." Jarod walks in.

"Comdr." Harm looks up and smiles. He motions for Jarod to take a seat.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to invite you to a cookout I'm having tomorrow night to get to know my new friends," he says with a smile. Harm laughs.

"I would love to come."

"Great. It's at my place, around seven."

"All right, see you there." Jarod gets up.

"Yeah, see you there. I got to go tell the others."

"Okay." Jarod leaves and sees Mac arriving. He walks toward her. "Arriving a little late?" She sighs.

"Yeah, I had to say goodbye to Mic."

"Goodbye?" asks Jarod, acting all innocent.

"He has a meeting in Miami with an old friend." Jarod nods.

"That's too bad, I was hoping to get to know him tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"I'm having a cookout at my house tomorrow night and was going to invite you both. I hope you still can come though." She smiles.

"I'd love to."

"Great." They walk to her office. He sees Bud and Harriet in the distance and they both smile and nod. 'The game is on,' he thinks.

"Did you talk to Harm about the case?" she says, ripping him from his thoughts.

"Last night. I came close. How about we try tomorrow at the cookout since the trial isn't starting until Monday."

"Okay." They sit and start working. Mac working on the case, Jarod on _his_ case.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

Jarod's Place

18:45 Zulu

Jarod is preparing the food. He thought of the most romantic meal for those two that he could, knowing that they have different tastes. He finally decided on a pasta dish with cooked vegetables and a light sauce. And then there was the wine. He learned from Bud and Harriet that Mac had a drinking problem. He bought the perfect wine to go with the pasta, a Chardonnay from 1995, still young but not brand-new, and used his genius IQ to make it non-alcoholic. He prepared the food to easily bring it into the dining room. Then he went into there. He set the table with candles and the dishes minus the food and turned on some soft music. He smiled to himself as he slides the door shut to that they couldn't see it right away. Now he is sitting on the couch waiting for them to arrive. Shortly a red SUV pulls up and before Harm can get out the door Mac pulls up next to him.

"Watch it!" he yells playfully. They laugh and smile at each other. Harm was glad that Mic and Renée were both gone for a change, now he could spend some time with his best friend. Mac was happy too. Things were never the same between her and her flyboy when she moved the ring to her left hand.

"We must be the first ones here," says Mac as they walk to the front door together. Jarod had been watching from the window and knew what he was doing was right when he saw them laugh together. He opens the door. They are still giggling a little and he smiles. 'I wish Parker and I could be like that.'

"Welcome." They look at him with big smiles on their faces just like they would have in old times. "Come on in." They walk in.

"Great place," says Mac looking around.

"Thanks."

"We the first ones?" asks Harm as Jarod shuts the door and leads them to the living room.

"Yep. Hey this would be a good time to discuss the case." Harm looks at him.

"Do we have to?" he asks like a child, not wanting to work with Mac but play. Jarod smiles.

"Afraid so."

"Come on flyboy," says Mac playfully hitting Harm in the arm.

"I have everything set up in the dining room, follow me." They follow him as he slides the door open and what they see shocks and confuses them both. He turns to see their reactions and smiles. "Please have a seat, I have to talk to you both." They do so, unable to talk due to the lack of words.

"Jarod, what is all this?" asks Mac after finally regaining her voice. Jarod sits to face them both.

"I'll explain."

"You better," says Harm. Jarod smiles.

"The truth is that I'm not here in DC to work at JAG with all of you. I came to JAG to help you two."

"Help us?" asks Harm, glancing at Mac.

"I can see the truth between the two of you that either of you want to confront or are scared to and I've come to get it out in the open."

"What truth?" asks Mac, knowing fully what he was talking about.

"Your love for each other." Both try to say something but he stops them. "Listen to me, its time to stop denying these feelings. When I get a new case I look at both sides of the argument. The case that you two are arguing against each other in is just like the two of you. Harm, you are arguing head over heart but that isn't how you should do everything. Mac, you are arguing heart over head but you don't follow yours. Follow your hearts. What you two have is very special and rare and you can't let it be thrown away. Everyone is meant for someone else and when you've found that person you must take it. Some people aren't as lucky, they either never find the person or it is impossible to be with them, believe me, I'm talking from experience. It's time stop listening to your head and to listen to your heart. As for the cookout, it was a setup, although there is a real one tomorrow. This was the only way I could think of to get you two together and alone, away from work. Now I have a vegetarian meal made and alcoholic free wine for you two to sit here and eat and talk." He didn't wait for them to respond but got up and brought out the food and wine. He lights the candles and walks to the door.

"Jarod?" says Mac before he is out the door.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." He smiles and nods at them both. He slides out the door and hopes this works.

*~*~*~*

"Harm, he's right," she says looking into his eyes.

"I know. God, Sarah how did we let it get this way?" Her heart jumped when she her him call her Sarah.

"I don't know and that doesn't matter. What matters now is that we are here tonight." They look into each other's eyes. "Harm, I love you."

"I love you too Sarah." They look at each other and lean into each other. They close their eyes and part their lips and kiss. A sweet and passionate kiss. When they pull away they know that it was meant to be like Jarod said. They kiss again this time even more intense. They smile and begin to eat the dinner.

*~*~*~*

Jarod was watching from a crack in the door in the kitchen. He finishes his food and then smiles to himself. 'Glad to see one couple together,' he thinks. He picks up his cell phone and dials Harriet and Bud.

"Hello?" answers Bud.

"It's Jarod. It worked."

"It did? Wow, that's great, Harriet is going to be thrilled!" Jarod smiles.

"I bet. I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?"

"Absolutely."

"Bye."

"Bye."

*~*~*~*

They had finished the dinner and where now talking.

"How do you think he could tell?" says Mac right when Jarod walks in.

"Sorry to intrude, but I noticed you were done." He walks in to take the dishes.

"Jarod how did you know?" asks Harm. Jarod smiles.

"I could see it in your eyes." They nod. He takes the dishes and then returns with dessert, well, _his_ version of dessert. Mac laughs immediately when she sees it.

"Plate-o-PEZ?" she says. Jarod laughs.

"I got so wrapped up in the main course I forgot about the dessert."

"This is fine. In fact this whole thing was more than you ever needed to do," says Harm.

"Why did you do it?"

"I did it for all the couples out there that can't be together." Mac studies his face when he says this.

"You can't be with your love can you?"

"No."

"Why?" asks Harm.

"It's complicated."

"Well, I'm sure that some day you two will be able to be together and happy like us," says Mac.

"Me too." They smile at each other and eat some PEZ. "One thing that I'd hate to bring up but I should remind you that you both are seeing someone else right now.

"Actually Renée isn't going to return in a couple weeks, she's not returning. We broke up. We both knew that it wasn't working."

"And I think that Mic can sense that this isn't going to work. We'll straighten that out later though," she says as she wraps her arm around Harm. Jarod smiles.

"Okay. Well, I think you too want to go home and, um, talk some more so I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You bet," says Mac. They get up and Jarod walks them to the door. They turn to look at him. "Thank you Jarod."

"Yeah, I don't know how we can ever repay you."

"Never give up on each other."

"We won't." They leave. Jarod sits on the couch and grabs the phone. 'Never give up.' He dials.

*~*~*~*

"What?"

"I just loved Hawaii, did you?"

"Oh yeah, it was a blast," Miss Parker says sarcastically. "Jarod, I'm really tired of all this, why don't you just tell me where you are so I can bring you home?" 'Or to my place,' she thinks.

"You know how to find me."

"And how is that?"

"Follow your heart." She jumps when he says that. That's just was she told herself would work.

"Jar-Jarod?" is all she can get out but it was too late, he had all ready hung up. "Maybe I will," she says to herself. "Maybe I will."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

****

St. Andrew's Airport

Washington DC

22:00 Zulu

Miss Parker steps off the plane and gets into a rental car. She told Daddy that she needed the weekend off and he actually let her. She knew that he would probably follow her with sweepers but she was one once and knew how to loose them for a while. She stepped onto one plane, saw them board, and then stuck onto the real flight she was taking. This should buy her a few hours. She doesn't know how or why she thinks Jarod is in DC but she can feel it. She did a search on her computer for any houses, apartments or hotels that rented out space to someone in the last two weeks. She found three but only one had the first name Jarod and she knew it was he. Currently she looks at the wrinkled piece of paper in her hand with his address. She hoped she wasn't too late.

*~*~*~*

Jarod was sitting on his couch. The rest had just left about an hour ago and he had finished cleaning up. He informed the Admiral that he would be leaving this weekend and he didn't ask any questions. Mac told him at the party that Mic called earlier that day and told her that things weren't working. Apparently, Mic's "friend" wasn't just any friend but Mac wasn't upset. They made a clean break and she is sending him the ring. Bud and Harriet, especially Harriet, were thrilled to see Mac and Harm together and so was the Admiral or AJ as he repeatedly told them to call him tonight. Jarod met little AJ and learned more about the rest of them. They continued to pry answers out of him but he told him little for he knows little. He told them he we separated from his family when he was young and was trying to piece it back together. He showed them the picture of his mother, the one of his father, and Kyle who he informed them had past. After a while all but Harm and Mac left and they talked some more.

"So tell us about the person you can't be with," says Mac.

"These people, the ones that separated me from my family, took her from her mother also. We both have been lied to and used. She is very strong and beautiful but because of her past she has become cold. I know deep down in her heart she cares but he is too afraid to show it. That and these people are the reason why we can't be together." They nod because they don't know what to say. Jarod changes the subject until they have to leave. They say goodbye and tell him he has to come and visit often and if he can ever be with _her_ to introduce them to her. He agreed and said goodbye. He knew that they would always remain friends and wished that he could stay here. Now he sat on the couch hoping one day to be able to stay here and work with Mac and Harm, and live with Parker.

*~*~*~*

She parks down the street. She didn't know what she was going to say or how he would react. She wanted to run away but she knew that she couldn't. She might not have another chance. She walks up to the door and knocks.

*~*~*~*

He hears a knock at the door. 'Who could that be? It can't be them, Parker would kick the door down first.' He walks to it and opens the door and he sees something he never thought he would see. Her heart jumps immediately when she sees him.

"I'm alone and unarmed," she says to try to relax him.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" is all he can get out.

"Can I come in first?" He takes a deep breath and steps out of the way for she to enter. She is barely five feet in the door when she turns to him to speak but he beats her to it.

"How did you even find me?" He asks as he sits on the couch and motions her to sit too. She does so.

"I followed my heart," she says looking into his eyes. His heart jumps and can see she means it but he is speechless. "Jarod," she continues, "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiles a smile he hadn't seen in a really long time. He smiles back. They lean towards each other and close their eyes. They kiss, but nothing like their first kiss for they both had more experience and this had more feeling behind it. They pull back and look into each other's eyes. They kiss again and then he takes her hand and leads her into the bedroom. "We may only have one night together and I want it to be one we'll never forget." She smiles and nods as they begin to kiss again.

*~*~*~*

She wakes up in his arms. She never felt so happy but she became sad knowing that it was going to have to end. She slides out from the sheets and gets dressed. She then sits back on the bed and watches him as he sleeps. She knew that he would understand why she left but she still felt terrible to doing it. She kisses him softly on the lips and once on the forehead. Then she wipes away her tears and leaves to get back to Delaware. Jarod sits up in the bed as soon as he hears the front door shut. He hadn't been asleep. When she got up he woke up but didn't want to see her leave so he did what he does best, he pretended to be asleep. Soon he wipes away his tears and showers and dresses. He grabs his things and leaves. As he waits for his plane to take off he sends an email to Miss Parker, Harm, and Mac:

No matter where the world takes you in this strange but

wonderful life always remember simple one thing:

Follow Your Heart.

Jarod

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


End file.
